“Italy, together with the governments of the continent sharing such objective, is fully committed to support peace and stability in Africa and to address common challenges such as the fight against terrorism, illegal immigration and transnational organised crime.” That was stated at the event promoted by the OECD, “Africa’s development dynamics 2021: Digital transformation for quality jobs”, by Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Marina Sereni. The Vice Minister added: “Regarding the efforts to mitigate the economic and financial effects exacerbated by the pandemic, Italy is one of the main sponsors of the G20 Debt Suspension Initiative to support the countries most in need of assistance”
“Our country is also one of the prominent supporters of the international alliance on vaccines. We are committed to ensuring the supply of vaccines in 92 low-income countries, mainly in Africa. We know it is not enough, and much more is needed, but we are doing everything we can.
The pandemic has shown,” she said, “that global interdependence is not just a slogan but a reality. To thrive in a digitised economy, Europe needs digitised neighbours and trading partners, starting with Africa. It is paramount to avoid that the African continent is excluded from the technological development process, which, especially with the current pandemic, is accelerating dramatically; this could generate further inequalities. Consequently, the Italian G20 Presidency Agenda also includes investments to strengthen infrastructure, both digital and otherwise, globally.
Connected to the theme of digitalisation is that of education. Italian Cooperation maintains a specific and priority focus on education. It is the main factor of development, enabling young people to acquire greater awareness and increasing levels of knowledge to pave the way for a better future. During the pandemic, school and education, especially in the poorest countries, were affected profoundly. For this reason,” Sereni concluded, “our Cooperation is fully committed to implementing projects in many African countries that focus on education, training and digitalisation”.
